Emily Placido

Emily Placido, a native Northeasterner, was born in Manhattan and grew up, across the river, in New Jersey. She always had a passion for the written word, and as a teenager, Emily wrote her first short story. Then life got in the way and her natural path was impeded. At the insistence of her father, she enrolled in the Pre-Med program at Caldwell College. Her family moved to Florida in the late 1970s and Emily graduated from Florida Atlantic University. Soon thereafter, she married a New York transplant and they had two children.

After a few years as a stay-at-home mom, Emily grew restless and sought outside work. She spent many years in the financial/insurance industry, working for major U.S. banks and insurance companies. Then she became one of the “sandwich generation” caring for her ailing mother, while raising her two grown children.

Years later, Emily felt herself burn out on insurance and banking, and she decided to start pursuing her lifelong dream. With the support of her husband and children, she began writing, writing, and writing some more, even while working fulltime as an insurance agent and caring for her elderly mother. This would have made her mother, a PHD in philosophy and letters, very proud.

In 2008, when the economy took a nosedive, Emily was let go from her job. This was the catalyst that set events into motion. She went on to write a memoir about her mother’s battle with dementia. Julita’s Sands was published in April 2010. Emily currently lives on the east coast of Florida, with her husband and their dog. Emily never could handle the cold weather (must be the Cuban blood in her!) so she stayed in Florida. She enjoys the outdoors, traveling, the beach, reading, running, animals, and trying different foods from around the world.

Emily is a member of The International Women's Writing Guild.